After a judge rejected a hold on the purchase of a property for a temporary interim housing project this week, the City of San Rafael is moving ahead with the deal.
San Rafael city attorney Rob Epstein said in an email that Marin County Superior Court Judge Sheila Shah Lichtblau on Tuesday denied the application for a temporary preliminary injunction from a group of people who live near the site at 350 Merrydale Road. Accordingly, the city is moving forward to close on the acquisition, said Epstein.
The deal comes after years of negotiations by the city with real estate agents in meetings behind closed doors. According to California’s Brown Act, which sets rules for public meetings, real estate negotiations are permitted to occur in closed door meetings if they do not result in decisions being made without public input and a description of the business being discussed appears on a public agenda.
On Nov. 3, a group of residents who live near the Merrydale site sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city from their lawyer alleging violations of the Brown Act. The letter said that affirmative comments made by the mayor and supervisors at an Oct. 15 news conference on the site were proof that the property deal had been made behind closed doors.
At the time of the press event, the city had distributed bilingual flyers to residents in the vicinity but had not yet arranged for public engagement and input on the project. Since then, there has been a public meeting Oct. 28 and an information session Nov. 6. The city is currently working on program design and site management policies, which will be drafted with public input at meetings on Dec. 9 and Jan. 14.
At a Nov. 17 City Council meeting, Epstein acknowledged that the Oct. 15 news conference might have given residents the impression that a contract had been signed in secret, but no final decision had been made yet.
Moving campers into transitional housing
The unhoused people who currently occupy 50 tents in a city-sanctioned camping area along the Mahon Creek Path in downtown San Rafael will be first in line to receive one of 65 private, lockable cabins. Up to 70 people will move in early spring. The Mahon Creek camping area will then close, and the path will reopen for public access.
The interim program must permanently close by June 30, 2029.
The cabins will have electricity, heating and personal storage, with shared facilities including a kitchen, laundry, bathrooms and showers. There will be perimeter fencing with 24/7 security, as well as health and social services, case management and help finding permanent housing.
The total price tag for the interim project is about $12.5 million, according to San Rafael community services division director Daniel Cooperman. Under a multi-jurisdictional agreement, Marin County has provided $8 million from the county’s Affordable Housing Trust for the city to purchase the land from a private owner and help set up the program to operate for two years.
In exchange for the grant, the city has agreed to permit the site for permanent affordable housing with at least 80 units for those making less than 80% of area median income by June 30, 2028.
The future affordable housing development is a separate initiative that will serve broader housing needs in San Rafael, not necessarily those served by the tiny cabin interim housing project.